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Empire roast chicken, a la Jamie Oliver

Top tip: leave your chicken to marinate overnight so that the flavours sink right in

Whether it’s a traditonal Sunday lunch or a meaty treat to adorn a pile of golden chips, you’ve gotta love roast chicken. But wouldn’t it be nice if someone spiced it up a little? Well, they did — and we have Jamie Oliver to thank for this exquisite empire roast chicken (or Indian roast chicken, as I think of it).

The lengthy marinating time ensures all of the delicious spices soak through the skin to permeate the flesh, and after a good old roasting, the skin is deliciously crispy.

You’ll need:

1.4 kg free-range chicken

1 heaped tbsp finely grated garlic

1 heaped tbsp fresh ginger

1 heaped tbsp fresh red chilli

1 heaped tbsp tomato purée

1 heaped tbsp ground coriander

1 heaped tbsp turmeric

1 heaped tbsp garam masala

1 heaped tbsp ground cumin

2 heaped teaspoons natural yoghurt

2 lemons

2 level tsp sea salt

Make the magic happen:

Locate a roasting tray that’s slightly bigger than the chicken, then add in all of the marinade ingredients and mix together

Slash the chicken’s legs a few times, making sure you go down to the bone, then pop on a pair of clean rubber gloves and massage the marinade all over and inside the chicken

Leave those lovely flavours to soak in

Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight

When ready to roast, preheat your oven to 200°C and place a roasting tin at the bottom of the oven (your chicken will sit on the bars of the shelf directly above it)

Pierce the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and place it right inside the chicken’s cavity

This bird is well and truly stuffed

Place the chicken straight onto the bars of the middle shelf above your roasting tray and cook for around 1 hour 20 minutes